


The Crash

by TT40_Angst_Queen



Category: Whose Line Is It Anyway? RPF
Genre: M/M, Work Up For Adoption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 15:28:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9614132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TT40_Angst_Queen/pseuds/TT40_Angst_Queen
Summary: Ryan knew his fear was justified....





	

They had known each other for years, they were best friends, closer then than brothers, they knew each other better than anyone else, they could practically read each other’s minds. They would finish each other’s sentences, they could finish their thoughts….

 

But right now, both Ryan and Colin wished more than anything that they couldn’t tell what the other was thinking. The sheer terror they could feel from each other was horrifying. The feeling of them grasping each other’s hands, the sound of screams ringing in their ears, the rattling of their current prison shaking them around… there was a reason Ryan was afraid of flying, and the rapidly approaching ground before them made his fear even more justified. Despite Drew’s reassurance that his private jet was safe to fly, telling them that they could fly back from London easily and cheaper than taking a commercial flight back to the US. Ryan knew his fear was real, and justified. He just wished Colin wasn’t here with him. He didn’t want to die at 46 years old, and he certainly didn’t want his best friend, the person he…. the person he loved, even though he never said it, for fear of rejection. 

 

Ryan turned his wide, terrified eyes to Colin’s face, pale skin glowing in the dark, emergency lights the only thing allowing him to see his best friend’s own pale skin, wide eyes, and terrified trembling.

 

As he knew that the ground was rapidly approaching, and he was sure that this was his last chance to say it, he knew he had to tell Colin how he felt. He grasped the balding man’s hand even tighter, looking him in the eyes, Ryan’s own full of love, showing his true feeling for his friend for the first time. 

 

“I love you, Colin.” 

 

Colin’s eyes widened with shock. “Ryan, I-”

 

Darkness.

 

* * *

 

He was floating, thick, tendrils of darkness grasped at his limbs, his consciousness floating along a river of darkness and tiredness. He didn’t know where he was, why he was here, but something niggled at the back of his…. Mind? Did he have a mind here? 

 

Yes… he did… he was… Ryan… His name was Ryan… Stiles... he was... flying? Yes… flying with…. Colin… his friend... his love…. Colin!

 

Suddenly, he remembered what had happened…

* * *

 

_ “I can’t believe Drew let us use his private jet,” Colin’s voice interrupted Ryan’s efforts to relax and not worry about the flight ahead, and his fears on everything that could go wrong. He turned his attention to Colin, and tried to (unsuccessfully) pry his hands of the armrests of his seat.  _

 

_ “Yeah, It’s great. Just great. Rather I wasn’t on the fuckin’ thing in the first place.” Ryan smiled sarcastically at Colin, and it faltered at the raised eyebrow he got in return. _

 

_ “Nothing will happen Ry, I promise. We will be fine.” Ryan shook his head, tightening his arms on the armrest as the plan started to take off, his breath caught in his throat, and his eyes squeezed shut. _

 

_ It was when they were twenty minutes away from the airport was when things started to, no, did go wrong.  _

 

_ The loud bang that signaled the explosion of one of the engines in the wings– the one, in fact, right beside where Ryan was sitting– caused the tall man’s heart to stop.  _

 

_ The plane started falling, and the next few moments went by in a blur. _

 

_ The shock on Colin’s face when he confessed his love had his heart sinking, but he didn’t have time to contemplate that as the plane hit the ground.  _

 

_ There was sharp flash of pain, then, nothing. _

  
  


* * *

  
  


The light reflected off the reading glasses perched on the nose of a balding, brown eyed man, as he read a story to a man seemingly asleep on the bed in front of him. In fact, if it weren’t for the many machines surrounding the man in the bed with blond curls, longer, almost reaching his shoulders, the machines keeping the man breathing, showing his heartbeat, and the brain activity, one would think he was simply sleeping. 

 

The last of which showed barely any activity at all. 

 

The clicking of the machines, the beeps, and the whirs, filled the silence once the balding man stopped reading from the book "White Fang” by Jack London.

 

Colin smiled softly as he finished the chapter of the book he was currently reading to Ryan, though the man was unaware of it. He placed the soft velvet bookmark in the book, a gift from his friend on his thirtieth birthday, for which the tall man got a large hug and a thank you. The brown eyed man reached over and stroked his fingers down Ryan's cheek, the slightly cool skin, papery thin and stretched over thin cheeks from being fed through a tube, and scars from the accident littered his face. Some of the scars were barely noticeable, some were small, but there were a few large ones. One went through his bottom lip to his chin, creating a deep divot in it. Another ran from his right eyebrow, through his eye, across his nose, and halfway down his left cheek. The rest of the scars were hidden under the blankets, mostly burns that stretch across his arms and legs, and some on his back. A chunk of Ryan's skin was missing from his left leg, and if- no, when- the man woke up, he would have a permanent limp. How bad that limp was, they didn’t know.

 

"Please-" Colin choked on a sob, his emotions getting the better of him. Why was he allowed to sit here, fine except for a smattering of burns across his face and limbs, while his friend was permanently disfigured, in a coma, almost brain dead, for almost two years? Hell, even the pilot and the two stewardesses were fine, albeit with a few scars and one of them with a lost arm. 

 

"Please wake up... please Ry...." Colin sobbed. It had been so long, and he was the only one in the group of friends that had any hope left. The rest just gave him looks of sympathy, and kept an eye on him on the few times he went to the apartment or to work on set. They were afraid he might do something stupid. As if he would off himself when Ryan could wake up any second. 

 

Someone behind him cleared their throat, and he looked behind him to see the doctor that had worked with Ryan and him for almost two years now. The man was the nicest doctor that Colin had ever met, and the best as well. He was older, with grey hair and laugh lines, a pair of thin wire rimmed glasses covered his soft blue eyes, and he was of average height. 

 

"Colin, may I have a word with you?" 

 

Colin could tell right away what this was about and knew he wouldn't like it.

 

He was right.

 

"No! I won't!" How dare he suggest that he take Ryan off life support? He could wake up any moment! he still had brain activity, small as it was...

 

The doctor sighed, cleaning his glasses with a cloth, before putting them back on his face. The room seemed full with tension, the once bright sunlight that filled the room seemed to darken, the cheerful sun seeming to follow Colin's mood.

 

"Colin, it's been two years. The chance that Ryan will wake up is very slim... I'm sorry, but keeping him like this is harming you, your friends, and Ryan himself. Even if he wakes up, the chances of brain damage is very high.... I know your feelings about him Colin, and I am sure he wouldn't want to suffer." The doctor nodded at him. "I will leave you to think, page me when you have made your decision."

 

Colin waited until the doctor left before really thinking. He spent an hour looking and speaking to Ryan, before making the most agonizing decision he had ever made in his life.

 

He knew he should call the others, but he didn't think he could do this with them in the room.

 

He paged the Doctor, and when he arrived, he told him his choice.

 

"You should say your goodbyes, first."

 

Colin went to Ryan's bed, grasping the limp hand in his. 

 

"I love you Ryan. So many people love you, and I hope you are happy where you are going, wherever that is, and I will join you, one day... I love you so much.." Colin choked on a sob.

 

Doctor Yates took that as his signal to turn off the machines. One by one, they turned off.

 

_ ~°§°~ _

 

_ Ryan was so close to touching the light, so close, when a voice reached him through the all encompassing darkness. It echoed like the beating of his heart, thumping through his very being and touching his soul in the most intimate places, and ran over his senses like the first ray of sunshine peeking over the hill on a new day, and caressed his senses like silk on his bare skin.  _

 

_ “You should be waking up right now, Ryan… the doctor says that the longer you stay in a coma… well, the less chance you have of waking u-up…” _

 

_ A sob.  _

 

_ “You need to wake up Ry…” _

_ …….  _

 

_ “It's been nine months… your injuries are healed… but, you have some scars…. Not that it matters… you'll have a limp when you wake up to… not much of one, you can still walk around and stuff, and do action replay on set… and they were able to replace some of your spine with artificial bone… so your back won't bug you as much… but they said you will have to get used to moving with it when you wake up….” _

_ ……. _

 

_ “It’s been a year and a half… the guys have lost hope… they just give me these looks, like they are just going along with me thinking you will wake up so I don't crack… they won't leave me alone either… I think they think I'm going to slit my wrists… or copy your hangman gag, if they leave me alone for too long…. _

 

_ I would never leave you.” _

  
  


_ …..  _

  
  


_ "Please wake up... please Ry...." _

 

_ …….  _

 

_ “The doctor wants me to let you go… it's been two years since The Crash…. You haven't woken up… the doctor said there is a high possibility of brain damage… if you do wake up… they aren't sure what… but is it right, for me to decide if I let you go?.... I don't… I just… it's not fair to you to wake up a vegetable…. Or blind… or even unable to speak… I wouldn't want you to hate me for making you live trapped in your body…. I wouldn't want you to suffer….  _

 

_ I guess I need to let you go….” _

 

_ ……  _

  
  


_ "I love you Ryan. So many people love you, and I hope you are happy where you are going, wherever that is, and I will join you, one day... I love you so much.." A sob.  _

 

_ ……  _

 

_ Ryan felt a squeeze to his hand, and wetness on his face. All the words registered with him… and he gasped for breath, which seemed to get increasingly harder every second.  _

 

_ He now knew he was in a coma, close to death, after the plane crashed. God, his worst fear came true, and his only comfort was that Colin was fine. His love was fine.  _

 

_ But he wasn't fine. He was crying. Because he was in a coma. And he was going to take him off life support.  _

 

_ Panic made his soul flutter, and he felt his ethereal body stutter, and he knew somehow that they had turned off the machines.  _

 

_ He heard sobbing from what he guessed was Colin, and his goodbye.  _

 

_ No. He wouldn't leave him. Damn the fact that he might have brain damage. He could deal. He would have to, because he was not going to leave Colin alone, not after he now knew that Colin returned his feelings. Even if he meant it as friends, he couldn't leave his friend to suffer alone. He couldn't.  _

 

_ So he fought. With everything Ryan had, he fought to wake up, to return to Colin, with his warm brown eyes, and soft skin… and his dimples… his smile that he saved for only him…  _

 

_ ~°§°~ _

 

Colin sobbed as the loud single beep filled the desolate room, his sobs being drowned out by the sound. 

 

Colin was awash in a sea of despair, he felt himself crumple to the floor, but being caught by the doctor before he met the ground. 

 

He was sobbing so hard, that he had to stop and cough, and if it wasn't for that lull in sound, he and the doctor both would have missed the long beeps that signified death, jump to show that Ryan's heart was now beating. 

 

Colin slowly raised his head, tears staining his red cheeks and eyes. He thought he was hallucinating for a bit until the doctor jumped up, quickly pressing a button on the wall, and shouting. 

 

“This is impossible, he was dead for three minutes, in a coma for two years…” 

 

The doctor took one look at the raw hope, and awe as Colin stared at the now moving chest of Ryan Stiles, and changed his mind. 

 

“No, not impossible… it's a miracle…” The doctor smiled widely at Colin. 

 

Nurses suddenly flooded the room, and Colin caught snatches of words. 

 

“Coma... Two years…” 

 

“.... Dead…. Three minutes….”

 

“... Possible brain damage….”

 

“....breathing normal… brain activity… good..”

 

“...Miracle… one for the books…”

 

“... Pupil dilation fine…. Reflexes normal…”

 

“... Slight delay… right hand… left leg…slight limp… depends..”

 

“Physical Therapy…. Best… England…World known.. Used to... Bad cases… Amber Lee Slattery…”

 

The next few hours was blurry, but Colin eventually tuned into what was happening when he felt a tap to his shoulder. He came back to himself and found himself sitting in a chair with the Doctor sitting in front of him, the comforting beeping of Ryan's heart filling the room. 

 

“Colin. This is... This is a miracle... To be completely honest, I'm not quite sure how to process this. But Ryan is alive, his breathing is normal, his brain activity is normal, and he only has a slight delay in his lift leg and right hand reflexes, which is normal but can be fixed with physical therapy. Ryan, when he wakes up, will need a physical therapist, and I've gone ahead and called the best.” 

 

Colin came slowly out of his funk, and when the words registered, he let out a breath of relief. 

 

It was like the world had finally clicked back into place, after being tilted on his axis for two years. 

 

“Who… who is it?” Colin stuttered out, his throat still sore from the now useless tears of loss. 

 

The Doctor smiled at him pushing his glasses back up on his nose. 

 

“Her name is Amber Lee Slattery. She one of the best, if not the very best, physical therapists in the world. She is from England, but she travels the world to work with patients. She is currently retired, but given who it is that I asked her to treat… let's just say she wants to return a favour.” 

 

The name registered with Colin, and something in Colin's memory pinged, and he gasped. Could it be..? 

 

“Slattery? As in Tony Slattery?” Colin couldn't believe his ears. He rubbed his hands together roughly, his mind on his old friend from England. Tony was one of the ones that still kept in contact with Ryan, Colin and Greg after Whose line left Britain. After they had gotten a panicked call from Clive saying Tony was missing, they had taken a plane to Britain, despite Ryan's fears, and after finding Tony in the warehouse, they helped him clean up and shape up, playing both carer, counsellor and friend. 

 

Tony had come when he heard of the crash, travelling and staying as long as he legally could, before leaving with the promise that he would keep in contact, and when Ryan woke up, he would be of the first flight back, with Josie, Mike and Clive in tow. 

 

The Doctor nodded. “Yes, Amber Lee is his sister, His older sister to be specific. She is 52, and very much the best around.”

 

The Doctor and Colin talked about a few more specifics, before he left Colin to sit by Ryan's side. 

 

“Hey Ry…”

 

**_AUTHOR NOTE: THIS IS ALL I AM WRITING FOR THIS, BECAUSE I DON'T TRUST MYSELF TO WRITE THIS AND FINISH IT IF I WRITE ANY MORE, LET ALONE WRITE IT WELL._ **

  
**_I WOULD LOVE IF ANOTHER AUTHOR WHO IS CONFIDENT THEY CAN WRITE IT WELL AND FINISH IT, COULD TAKE IT UP AND WRITE MORE TO THIS. I WOULD LOVE IT TO BE NOVEL LENGTH, IF NOT LONGER, GOING OVER RYAN'S RECOVERY, AND I ALREADY KNOW WHAT RYAN'S BRAIN DAMAGE WILL BE IF SOMEONE WRITES MORE ON THIS, SO PLEASE COMMENT OR PM ME, AND TELL ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, AND I WILL TELL YOU WHAT THE BRAIN DAMAGE IS._ **


End file.
